Exercising in the afternoon or evening may be better for blood sugar control than spreading activity out throughout the day, research suggests.
A new study published in the journal diabetology found that exercising between noon and midnight could reduce insulin resistance by up to a quarter.
Insulin resistance occurs when cells in muscle, fat, and liver struggle to respond to insulin and cannot easily absorb glucose from the blood.
This causes the pancreas to make more insulin to help glucose get into the cells.
Blood glucose stays in the healthy range as long as the pancreas can make enough insulin to overcome the cells’ weak response, but sometimes glucose levels get too high and sugar stays in the bloodstream.
This can lead to prediabetes (the stage before diabetes is diagnosed) or diabetes.
The new study was conducted by Dr. Jeroen van der Velde and colleagues at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.
Previous studies have shown that exercise is linked to improved insulin sensitivity, which reduces the risk of developing diabetes.
The team used data from the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study, which included men and women aged 45 to 65 with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or more (putting them in the overweight or obese category). ).
A separate group of people was used as a control group, which means that the overall study included 6,671 people.
The participants underwent a physical examination during which blood samples were taken to measure blood glucose and insulin levels when the subjects were fasting and after eating.
People were also asked about their lifestyles and some were randomly selected to have their liver fat content measured using MRIs.
A randomized group of 955 people also received a combined accelerometer and heart rate monitor to wear for four consecutive days and nights to monitor movement and activity levels.
Some 775 people with complete data were included in an analysis.
The results showed that spending time in moderate to vigorous physical activity reduced fat content in the liver and also reduced insulin resistance.
Exercising in the afternoon or evening was associated with a reduction in insulin resistance, by 18% and 25%, respectively, compared with an even distribution of activity throughout the day.
There was no significant difference in insulin resistance between morning activity and activity spread evenly throughout the day, the study found.
The researchers concluded: “These results suggest that the timing of physical activity throughout the day is relevant to the beneficial effects of physical activity on insulin sensitivity.
“Further studies should assess whether the timing of physical activity is really important for the onset of type 2 diabetes.” – dpa
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